Summer Camp and Anxiety

As school draws to an
end, many children will participate in summer camps over the upcoming months. Summer
camps can promote positive social development, independence, confidence, and
resilience. Summer camps may also cause worry and anxiety, especially for first
time campers. Understandably, children may become uncomfortable or even anxious when
they are placed in a new environment with unfamiliar people. In fact, roughly 95% of children
experience at least some homesickness when they are away from their home at
summer camp.

Children who are
experiencing doubts or anxiety regarding camp may show the following symptoms
or behaviors:

Stomach aches

Dizziness

Headaches

Difficulty sleeping

Reluctance to go to camp

Difficulty separating from parents and/or distress if they cannot be with a parent

Worry regarding harm coming to them or a loved one

Helping children
establish positive coping tools for being away from parents is critical.
Recommendations regarding fostering a successful transition to camp are below.

1. Validate and normalize
their feelings. Children may be embarrassed about feeling nervous to go away to
camp. Let your child know that it’s okay to miss home. Avoid dismissing their
feelings by saying comments such as: “You’ll be fine or everyone
loves camp.” These types of comments may discourage your child from opening up
to you. Instead, validate their concerns and express empathy for their
emotional experience. Encourage the conversation by asking open-ended
questions. For example: I know it can be challenging to be away from home. How
are you feeling about camp? You can also reflect on your own experiences with camp.

2. Set expectations. Familiarize your child
with the camp environment and teach them about camp activities. When possible,
show the child pictures of the camp and/or their counselor so that they will
know what to expect. Discussing the daily
schedule as well as how they can contact you while they are away is also
beneficial.

3. Talk positively about camp. Help your child get excited about camp. Talk positively about the new friends they will make and the fun
activities they will participate in.

4. Promote healthy coping. Find out what your child’s
specific worries are, and then collaboratively problem-solve with them. Most
kids worry about being homesick, but their specific concerns may surprise you. For
instance, some children will worry that they won’t be good at the activities, that
they won’t make any friends, or that their bed will not be comfortable. It can
be helpful to talk about the “what ifs,” and brainstorm coping strategies for
their worries. Role-play different scenarios with
your child so that they will know exactly what to do if such a situation
arises.

5. Practice asking for help.
Reassure
your child that they will get help from counselors and friends, when needed. Be sure they know that they can always talk to
someone at camp about their feelings or concerns. You might also want to alert the camp counselor about strategies
that help calm and comfort your child.

6. Prepare children to spend the night away from home. Having a sleepover or spending a night at a relative’ s house can
help your child prepare for sleep away camp. Prepare your child for the
sleepover and praise their ability to cope with being away from home.

7. Facilitate
a positive goodbye. Once at camp, try to keep goodbyes short. Long goodbyes
can make the transition more difficult and may increase a child’s anxiety.

8. Stay in contact. Pack envelopes and stamps so that your child
knows it will be easy to communicate with you while at camp. When speaking with
your child via phone, focus on successes they have had at camp.

9. Express confidence in
your child’s ability to cope. Do no promise to pick up your child as soon
as they get homesick. Instead, ask your child to do their best to cope and talk
again the following day, if needed. Remind your child of successes they’ve had in
the past when they have confronted a difficult situation. You can also check in
with your child’s counselor to assess how your child is transitioning.

Empowering children to self-regulate and adjust to being away
from home is an important developmental skill that they will utilize for the
rest of their lives. Praise your child for their bravery in going to camp. For persistent anxiety you should seek the help of a psychologist
as they can help your child gain mastery of their anxiety.